and Words
There′s a lady who’s sure all that glitters is gold
And she′s buying a stairway to Heaven
When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for
Ooh, ooh, and she’s buying a stairway to Heaven
There’s a sign on the wall, but she wants to be sure
′Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings
In a tree by the brook, there′s a songbird who sings
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven
Lyric excerpts from Musixmatch.
I arrived in Florida from Puerto Rico in the summer of 1978. When I first arrived, I spoke mostly Cantonese and Spanish. I studied English in Catholic school, but I failed that class. Upon arriving in Florida, I started learning English for real. In fact, I learned English through listening to music. I spent many hours listening to the radio on stations such as Y-100. It was in that way that I discovered bands like Led Zeppelin.
The prototypical Led Zeppelin song that dominated the airwaves is “Stairway to Heaven”. Naturally, the radio played many of their other songs, but “Stairway to Heaven” was by far their most distinctive. Yes, I found the song interesting, but many songs were interesting. The 80s filled my ears full of many distinctive sounds and experiences. You know how the adage goes, “You’re unique, just like everyone else.”